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Elton Manguwo

THE Government has been seized with ushering in new programmes targeted at mitigating the harsh effects of climate change as part of efforts to climate-proof the country’s agriculture sector to boost food and nutrition security.

Speaking on the side-lines of a presentation on Climate smart innovations to improve agricultural production in Zimbabwe in pursuit of Vision 2023’ at the Zimbabwe National Defence University yesterday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Deputy Minister Vangelis Haritatos said the occasion was centralised on what the Government was doing to mitigate climate change.

“Today we have been honoured to receive an invitation from the Vice Chancellor of the Zimbabwe National Defence University (ZNDU) to talk on the various aspects of climate-proofing the agriculture sector,” he said.

The presentation was centralised on irrigation development as a key aspect of building resilience to the effects of climate change.

“We need to move away from rain fed agriculture so that farmers can supplement with irrigation, as irrigation can ensure that our farmers have two seasons therefore achieving maximum use of the country’s good soils,” said Haritatos.

The presentation highlighted the need to bring in seed varieties that guarantee good and favourable yields in the face of climate change that has been affecting food production in the country.

The deputy minister stressed that there was a strong need be independent from rain fed agriculture and adopt a new mind-set of irrigation to lessen the effects of climate change.

The main force that is set to drive irrigation development is the Irrigation Development Alliance (IDA) a framework that seeks to promote investment in irrigation expansion by supporting partnerships between financial institutions, irrigation companies and farmers to enhance programme effectiveness.

“IDA is part of Government’s effort to create an enabling environment conducive for accelerated growth, that is building resilience to vulnerabilities and shocks that come as a result of climate change,” said Haritatos.

Dep Min Haritatos further commended the Government’s efforts to lead in the transition towards more mechanised operations.

“Part and parcel of mitigating the effects of climate change is mechanisation development to address the production gap,” said Haritatos.

Mechanisation of the agriculture sector plays a pivotal role in setting the economy on a positive growth path through the realisation of a gross domestic product (GDP) of 33 percent from the current 20 percent as a result of mechanised operations. The country’s economy is agro-based.

The Government has positioned the agriculture industry to spearhead programmes that are set to grow rural economies, as the country moves to anchor rural industrialisation on the high performance of the agriculture sector.

Dep Min Haritatos also highlighted how the outcome based interventions directly impacted on the attainment of Vision 2030.

“Conservation agriculture is important in safeguarding and ensuring production continuity, which is a key pillar in the attainment of an upper middle income economy,” he added.